Under the guidance of Wang Qinian, Rong Hong and Zhang Yu met the legendary American tycoon in Scrooge's small living room. Although before this, Zhang Yu had heard of Scrooge from Rong Hong more than once?? MacDonald's story, but the tycoon who is said to hold the lifeblood of the country is so young, which still surprised Zhang Yu.

Scrooge invited the two guests to sit down on the sand, and Elizabeth served them black tea from China.

"The two of you have crossed the ocean from China to come to me, and I am afraid that it has been a long time since I have drunk authentic Chinese tea." "These teas were brought back to me from China by a good friend of mine, and he told me that they were the best Chinese teas." ”

Zhang Yu took a sip of tea, looked at Rong Hong again, smiled, and put down the teacup. Rong Hong took a sip very happily, and then praised in English: "It's really good tea, it's very fragrant." ”

Shi Scrooge saw that Zhang Yu just smiled and didn't speak, so he smiled and said: "My tea should be rare in the United States, but in China, the hometown of tea, it is probably not a good thing." ”

Zhang Yu didn't know English, so he could only look at Rong Hong. Rong Hong also translated Scrooge's original words to him. After listening, Zhang Yu smiled slightly and replied: "Mr. MacDonald's tea is an authentic Zhengshan small species, even if it is placed in China, it can definitely be regarded as a good tea." It's just that sir, the level of your maid making tea is too poor, and the utensils and water used are not authentic. I don't know who taught her such a method of making tea. It's a waste of tea. ”

Zhang Yu thought that Scrooge didn't understand Chinese, so he was very polite when he spoke, anyway, when Rong Hong was translating, he naturally knew what to say and what not to say......

Sure enough, when Rong Hong translated it, it became: "Mr. Zhang said that Mr. MacDonald's tea is of course excellent, but the utensils used do not match it, and to make gongfu black tea, you should use the purple clay pot in Yixing, China, instead of the British bone china that Mr. is using now." ”

"I don't know much about that." Scrooge smiled and said, "To me, this thing is just for refreshment." You two came to me today to discuss with me what kind of deal? Scrooge said. Although I know that traditional Chinese are always used to going around a few more circles to talk about this kind of thing, Scrooge does not have so much time to waste with them. So he simply followed the American habit and talked about the deal straightforwardly.

Rong Hong has long been accustomed to the straightforwardness of the Americans, so he doesn't care. He replied: "We would like to be able to purchase from your company the production line of the MacDonald 1857 rifle and the associated patented technology." ”

This business is actually quite good, no matter how good the performance of the MacDonald 1857 is, after all, it is only a rifle that uses black powder, and now the company has fully switched to the production of the MacDonald 1864 rifle, so it seems to be a good choice to sell the old production line. However, Scrooge did not intend to use this kind of goods that was about to be eliminated to fool two rookies who had no understanding of the trend of weapons exhibition. He knew that after this production line, the Manchus would need more industrial equipment, as well as other ones. If he can leave an honest impression on these Qing Dynasty people now, it will definitely be of great benefit to his future planning.

"I don't understand how you guys would have thought to buy this. To be honest, I can even sell the MacDonald 1857 production equipment to you for scrap if you need it, and of course, the shipping costs are at your own expense. I guess the shipping costs of these things are probably higher than the price. "But I don't want you to buy this backward thing that is about to be eliminated." ”

"I've heard that the MacDonald 1857 is the best rifle in the world." Rong Hong asked in surprise.

"Oh, it used to be." Scrooge replied, "But since the advent of the McDonald Model 1864, it has become completely outdated." I dare say that in less than 5 years, the 6 armies of the vast majority of the world's great powers will be replaced with rifles similar to those of MacDonald 1864. And MacDonald 1857 can only be used to bully and bully African natives. ”

"How can this be?" Rong Hong was a little unconvinced.

"In addition, the production of an 1864 is not much more expensive than the production of an 1857, but the 1864 with smokeless gunpowder and magazines is much stronger than the 1857 in terms of performance, and the gap between them is almost as big as the gap between the rear-loading gun and the front-loading gun." Scrooge went on to explain.

"We use it against the rebels in the country, and 1857 will be enough." When Rong Hong translated Shi Gaozhi's words to Zhang Yu, Zhang Yu said so. Obviously, he was satisfied that he could buy a MacDonald 1857 production line for the price of scrap.

"If your country really wants to equip 1857, in fact, there is no need for a production line at all." After pretending to listen to Rong Hong's translation of Zhang Yu's opinion, Scrooge smiled again, "Your country will buy this production line back, and then produce 1857 rifles, because you have to import a lot of raw materials, so the cost of this thing will definitely not be much cheaper than our 1864." And because our civil war is over, the federal government is massively disarming, selling surplus weapons on the international market, so now the international market is now full of cheap 1857, buy these guns directly, the price is not even a quarter of what you make new yourself. And I dare say that with the promotion of the 1864 rifle, it will not be long before the British and French will begin to redress in large quantities, and those 1857 in their hands will be sold on the international market at the price of scrap iron. Therefore, it is cheaper to build an 1857 than to buy a second-hand 1857. ”

"So is the MacDonald 1864 rifle really that much better than the 1857?" Rong Hong asked.

"Ah, that's nature." Scrooge smiled and said, "There is a shooting range behind our company, if you two are free later, I can ask Wang Qinian to take you there to try the gun, and you will know how different these two guns are." ”

"And how much does a set of equipment for the production of 1864 rifles cost?" Rong Hong asked.

"We can refer to our dealings with the Prussians." Scrooge said, "I can't tell you the details, it's a trade secret." In fact, the production equipment is not worth much, the key is the relevant patented technology. In general, for every 1864 produced, they need to pay me five dollars for the patent. And the guns they produced could not appear on the international market, otherwise, any 1864 that appeared on the international market, each of which would need to pay me another ten dollars in violation. ”

"$5 per rifle patent? Can it be lowered a little? "You know, China is not a very rich country. ”

"It depends on how much you plan to produce." Scrooge replied, "If you are like Prussia, and you are going to produce hundreds of thousands of them in five or six years, then I will be able to give you the same price as Prussia." If the quantity can be in the millions, it can be a little cheaper. ”

For China, which is just starting out, it is almost impossible to produce more than one million in a few years.

"Of course, if you can agree to some additional conditions, it is not impossible that the royalty will be even lower according to Prussian standards." Scrooge said.

"What kind of conditions?" Rong Hong asked.

"All the raw materials needed to be imported for the production of this rifle, such as steel, gunpowder, etc., must be imported from the MacDonald family business under the condition that the price difference is less than one percent. In addition, if you want to build coal mines, iron mines, steel mills, artillery factories, etc., under the same conditions, you should also give priority to the MacDonald family's business. Scrooge said. In fact, his meaning is quite clear, if the construction in China's Westernization movement can be carried out according to his standards, then, well, it seems that there is still some money to be made.

"We need to discuss this with the country." Rong Hong said.

"Actually, I don't think it's interesting for you to nail your eyes to the arms." Scrooge said, "Munitions are important, but if you can't produce all kinds of key raw materials yourself, then what's the difference between buying raw materials and buying weapons directly?" I have heard that some people in your country are talking about 'enriching the country and strengthening the army'. This is a very good formulation, a strong army does not fall from the sky, but is built on the basis of the prosperity of the whole country and the strength of industry. There is no strong base industry. Merely buying equipment for the production of weapons, with all due respect, this is by no means the path that can really enrich the country and strengthen the army. The MacDonald family has strong strength in mining, smelting, railways, chemistry and medicine, etc., and I am personally more willing to cooperate with your country in these aspects and contribute to the prosperity of your country. ”

"Thank you, Mr. MacDonald, for your kindness to China. We do have the intention of building our own basic industries. Mr. MacDonald, could you allow us to take a tour of your family's business? After talking with Zhang Yu for a few words, Rong Hong said this.

"It's not a problem, I'll let Elizabeth arrange it." "In addition, the foundation of industry is not these factories, but more importantly, the relevant people. For example, if someone destroys my entire factory, but as long as my team is still around, it won't be a few years before I can get back to it. Not long ago, I spoke with a gentleman surnamed Lin who is said to have received some education in your country. I know from him that there is no education in the natural sciences in your country, and how could an industrial country be established without this?

In case you don't know, I'm also a Chancellor at the University of Cleveland. Although we at the University of Cleveland are a newly established university, we are definitely one of the best in the whole of America when it comes to natural sciences. At the University of Cleveland's MacDonald School, we have some of the best real rooms in the world, and we have great scientists like Mr. Maxwell who have a global impact. Also, the University of Cleveland, Rockefeller, has a good job in law and economics. If your country is serious about taking the path of self-reliance, it must send personnel to study the natural and social sciences that are adapted to it. Then the University of Cleveland would be a great choice. ”

Scrooge knew that in history, the Manchu Qing Dynasty finally came up with a plan for young children to study in the United States, although not many young children were sent to study abroad, but most of these people later achieved something in China. Especially in the intellectual circles, most of the earliest figures in China's natural sciences originated here. If you can get this plan under your control, it means that if you need to intervene in the situation in China in the future, you can find a lot of help. And Scrooge knows that China's rise is a historical necessity in the long run, and maybe China is not a place where he can make a lot of money now, but in a few years, the situation will change greatly, and at that time, with the hat of "an old friend of the Chinese people". The MacDonalds are bound to get more out of it.

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